Grading the 2013 Gilas Pilipinas National Pool

Seventeen
players have been named. Seventeen. Of that set, only twelve will make the
final roster that will have the honor to accomplish the herculean task of
earning a slot in the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

In this post,
I’ll be looking at the newly-announced Gilas Pilpinas National Pool, and I’ll try
to see how well the players fit in the context of FIBA Asia basketball. Of
course, it goes without saying that I don’t presume to have more first-hand
knowledge than the Gilas coaching staff. This is also not meant to “advise”
them. All these thoughts just come from me, one of FIBA Asia’s most extremely
dedicated followers, who just happens to be a little too opinionated for my own
good.

There are
definite no-brainer picks here, of course, like Douthit, Fajardo, De Ocampo,
and Slaughter. Douthit and De Ocampo played really well in the 2011 FIBA Asia
tourney and 2012 FIBA Asia Cup, and they should be able to translate that into
even better play in 2013 without much trouble (save for Douthit’s age). De
Ocampo, in particular, seems to have really blossomed, and it’ll be exciting to
see how well he can match-up with versatile FIBA Asia power forwards like
Arsalan Kazemi, Zhu Fangyu, Kosuke Takeuchi, and Oh Se-Keun.

Marcus Douthit is set to anchor the hopes ofGilas Pilipinas once agian.(image from the Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Fajardo and
Slaughter were definite automatic picks, too. Their size and potential are just
too good to pass up. Even if one of them fails to make the final cut, just the
mere fact they get to practice with such quality talent should really push them
closer towards what they’re truly capable of. Personally, however, I’d love to
see both behemoths make the final lineup.

Pingris and
Williams were not that shocking. Coach Chot Reyes has always coveted Pingris’
tenacity and nose for the ball, but I really worry about his size. At just 6’4,
he will really have it tough competing with the trees of FIBA Asia. Again, I don’t
doubt his heart, only his size. Williams gets in by virtue of his sheer
athleticism and mounds of experience. His first taste of the FIBA Asia tourney
was way back in 2007, also with coach Chot. He missed the cut in 2009, but came
back strong in 2011 as Gilas finished 4th.

The surprises
for me are Thoss and Aguilar. Thoss, for one, didn’t really impress, at least
stats-wise, in the 2012 Jones Cup and FIBA Asia Cup. He normed just 2.1ppg, and
3.1rpg in 15 games – a little too shabby for a back-up slotman. Perhaps his
spot could have been given to someone else like Arwind Santos (with the San
Miguel group’s permission pending). Aguilar is also a bit of a surprise not
because of his skill set (his skills are actually perfect for FIBA Asia ball),
but mainly because of his colorful, if tumultuous, history with coach Chot. As
recently as a week ago, coach Chot went on Twitter to castigate Aguilar for
demanding more playing time. Well, at least now he just might get it with
Gilas. Aguilar’s combination of size, mobility, and athleticism is
unprecedented in Philippine basketball, and he should have a more than fair
chance of making the final roster.

This is the
area that contains picks with which I am most comfortable. Norwood and
Dillinger provide great size at the 3 spot and both are versatile enough to
play either guard spot, too. My only beef with both guys is I hope they can
really sharpen their sights. Those threes have to fall more consistently. I
have to say, though, that, as good as Dillinger is, perhaps someone with a bit
more FIBA Asia experience would have been slightly better – someone like Marcio
Lassiter (again, pending the San Miguel group’s permission).

Speaking of
threes, that’s where David, Chan, and Fonacier come in. David and Chan are
probably the two streakiest shooters in the PBA outside of James Yap, while
Fonacier, in contrast, is more of a steady sniper. Keeping three gunners for
now gives coach Chot the luxury of seeing which ones 1) are most consistent
with their shot, 2) need less time to “heat up,” and 3) can actually play
catch-up defense when faced with the other deadly shooters across the
continent.

With the
exception of Tenorio, it’s an all TNT crew. That reality isn’t so surprising,
since Castro, Reyes, and Alapag are all familiar with the system coach Chot is
bound to use in the FIBA Asia tourney.

Like Douthit
and De Ocampo, Tenorio and Castro are no-brainers, too. Tenorio showed his
skill with the dribble-drive and the two-man game when Gilas captured the 2012
Jones Cup, and though he was bottled up a bit in the 2012 FIBA Asia Cup, he
should still be an effective back-up in the coming wars.

Yes, that’s
right. LA is the back-up here. Make no mistake, this is Castro’s time to shine.
The man who has been maybe the best all-around PG in the PBA for the past 2
years is finally donning a Pilipinas men’s NT jersey. His propensity to blow by
the opposition and set himself or his teammates up for quick scores is going to
be a main feature of Gilas Pilipinas, and I’m really excited to see him go
head-to-head with the likes of Mahdi Kamrani, Ali Mahmoud, Yang Dong-Geun, and
Ryota Sakurai.

Jayson Castro is the new lead guard for Team Philippines.(image by Paolo Papa/InterAKTV)

I have to be
honest, I didn’t really expect both Reyes and Alapag to be named in the pool.
This is more so with Reyes, who, despite being a good shooter, slasher, and
defender, has no FIBA Asia experience whatsoever. One could argue Reyes is a
combo guard who can shift to the SG position, but that would mean he’d be
undersized against guys like Hamed Afagh, Cho Sung-Min, or Erfan Ali Saeed. Alapag,
too, is a bit of a shocker even though he’s been a veteran campaigner. He saw
action both in the 2007 and 2011 FIBA Asia tourneys. He’s now 35 years old, so
perhaps he’s just here for a mentor’s role. Having said that, however, he’s a
pretty streaky shooter, too, so that just might get him a ticket to the final
lineup. Some other guys I thought would have also deserved spots are JV Casio
and Niño Cañaleta, though, obviously, Cañaleta is a wing player.

In the end, I
believe coach Chot’s job of choosing just 17 guys out of the deep talent pool
we have in the PBA was definitely unenviable. No matter whom he chose (I can
see the James Yap and Mark Caguioa fans up in arms now), he probably already
knew he’d get flak. This is why I admire him. Coaching the Philippine NT may
seem like a position of great stature for many, but it’s really a position of
great pressure.

Overall, coach
Chot’s picks were very intelligent, and I believe in him enough to know he
chose players who were willing to fit themselves into his system. These are the
seventeen players who will sacrifice the greatest to once again carry our
country’s name and pride into the bastions of basketball glory.

3 Comment

As much as I would also agree on his preferences (not having Caguioa, Yap, and Santos), I was really hoping for Chris Lutz to get included, and even Chris Ellis, Ray Parks, Sol Mercado (though i think Mercado's case was because of his required papers). I mean, i haven't seen a player who has that clean shooting stroke and dribbling like Lutz, like most NBA players. I think he is shunned the superstar status in Petron because of veteran favoritism in Santos and Cabagnot. And as for Parks and Ellis, we all know what they are capable of doing, they just haven't added much recorded experience to their resume mainly because they weren't given much chance to, save for Sinag.

Anonymous 2: Totally agree with Lutz and Parks, but it's really tough to pick just 17 guys. I wasn't too impressed with Ellis's Sinag stint. He, along with Cliff Hodge, didn't really produce much aside from the occasional highlight reel stuff. Had Ellis been a more consistent sniper, then he would surely have been considered. Of course, in the case of Ellis and Lutz, the SMB group would have had to release them to Gilas in the first place.

I applaud Sol Mercado for offering his services as a practice player for the NT knowing full well he isn't eligible. I actually hope coach Chot takes up the offer. His eligibility isn't just a question of not having papers in order, though. It's really about him not having a Pinoy passport on or before turning 16. Had he played for the NT in past FIBA Asia tourneys, then he would've been deemed eligible already, too. Oh well. At least he can still play for the NT during the SEA and Asian Games.